Knot forming and shaping devices



June 25, 1957 F. BOURGEOIS KNOT FORMING AND SHAPING DEVICES Filed Jan. 29, 1953 g i.,...., i

INVENTORY Z 0:11:91? Bowyem's BY U it t e This invention relates to wearing apparel, and more particularly to a device 'for shaping the knots of four-in-hand neckties; and to a necktie incorporating such a device.

I realize that several devices have been proposed in the past for supporting and forming the knot of a necktie, but these prior art devices have in general been unsatisfactory in that they are either designed to be fitted onto the outside of the tie material, in which case there is always danger of slippage of the material to expose the form, or in those instances in which the form is built into the tie material, nomeans are provided for adjusting the position of the'form to allow for variations in the neck size of the wearer. In such cases, if the form is positioned so that the ends are even, after tying the knot when the wearer has say a neck size, a wearer with a 13 neck size will find the rear end of the tie well below the front and, whereas the reverse will happen if the wearer has a 17 neck.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device which may be easily inserted within the body of a necktie to form a support for the knot thereof, whereby the wearer may easily form a well shaped knot, regardless of the thickness of the material or of the knot-tying skill of the wearer. p

It is a further objectof this invention to provide a knot support-for insertion within the body of a necktie, which may be easily and securely positioned by the owner of the necktie in a location such that, upon tying the necktie, the ends thereof will invariably be of equal length.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the disclosure proceeds.

My invention in general contemplates the provision of a form fashioned of resilient material having a body section of generally triangular shape and of a thickness sufiicient to impart substantial rigidity thereto and having wing portions of lesser thickness, and greater flexibility extending from two sides of the triangular body section. When the form is placed within the necktie, and a knot is formed therearound, the body section will form the front of the knit, with the base of the triangle in upward position to give a slightly curved contour to the front of the knot, while the tie material, when pulled tight, will draw the wing portions backwardtogive shape to the complete knot. ,Itiswithinthescope of my invention to so shape the basejportions, andthe attached -wings, so that a knot of anydesired Shapemay-behad, either in a form approaching a' square,.or in triangular'form with a relatively narrow bottom portion as compared with the top portion.

An important feature of my invention is the provision of means to fix the form within the body of the tie in the proper position, depending on the wearers neck size in order to enable the tie to be knotted over the form in such a position that the ends of the tie will be even. This means, as will be hereinafter more particularly pointed out, may vary, depending on (a) whether the wearer desires to semi-permanently incorporate the form Within the atent ice.

tie, (b) whether the tie is especially designed for use with the form, or (0) whether the wearer desires to shift the form from one tie to another without regard to whether the tie is designed for use with my improved form or not. In the case of (a), I provide a form made of a thermoplastic material, preferably polyethylene, which is resistant to solvents used in dry cleaning. In order to fix the form semi-permanently in the tie, the proper position in the tie is determined by the wearer by trial and error, and a hot iron is passed over the back of the necktie adjacent to the form, whereby to soften the plastic sufiiciently to cause it to stick to the tie material. 7

In the case of (b) I provide a stud attached to the rear of the base portion of the form, which stud may be passed through one of a series of buttonholes formed in the back of the tie material. In the case of (c), I may provide a pin attached to the base portion, which pin may be forced through the tie material, and anchored by a spring clasp, preferably similar to those disclosed in U. S. Patents 2,308,412 and 2,308,424.

Having now described my invention "generally, in order that those skilled in the art may more fully comprehend its nature, and the means for carrying it out, it will be described in more'detail in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a view of my new and improved tie form as it would appear when viewed from the rear,

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the form when viewed along the line 22 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the form when viewed along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, I

Figs. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views of alternative embodiments of the form when viewed along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and V Fig. 6 is a view of a section of a necktie with the form in position, the form being indicated by dotted lines.

As may be seen in Fig. 1, my invention in its 'basic form, is provided with a generally triangular body section, 10 formed of a resilient material, which is of a thickness such as to be bendable with difficulty, but still capable of a degree of distortion under the stress of the tie knot. In

use the base 11 of the body section It) will be at the.

upper edge of the tie knot, with the apex of the triangular body section 16 pointing downwardly. Flexible wing porstretched-taut at all times, whereby to avoid wrinkling. In thisembodiment of my invention it is essential that the knot form be'made of a thermoplastic, solvent resistant,

non-staining composition, such as polyethylene for reasons hereinafter to be pointed out. V V

Fig. 3 is a vertical. cross-sectional .view of the form,

illustrating the embodiment, otherwise illustrated in Fig-.1,

in whichthe semi-rigid body section 10 does not extend to the base of the form. I prefer this structure, since in use it will impart to the tie-knot a triangular shape, with a narrow bottom whose width is limited only by the thickness of the tie material. It will be understood, however, that the apex of the triangular body portion 10 may extend to the bottom of the form, and indeed, the body 10 may be in the form of a truncated triangle (not illustrated) in those instances in which it is desired to have the tie knot in a form approaching a square.

Patented June 25, 1957 V Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate alternative forms of my invention, designed to facilitate fixing of the form in the necktie in the desired position. In Fig. 4 the body is provided with a stud 14 having a neck portion 15 and ahead 16. In Fig. 5 the body portion is provided with a metallic pin 17, passing therethrough, and held in place as by a head 18 and a washer 19. a

In using my new and improved knot form, theforrn' is inserted in the open end of the larger end of a four-inhand necktie, and is normally worked up into the tie, between the facing material and the reinforcement, until it is in a position such that, upon tying a knot, the form will shape the knot, and the ends of the tie will be even after the knot is'tied and the necktie is in place on the wearers neck. By facing material I mean the tie material which faces the viewer, and by reinforcement I mean the flannel or other material heavier than the tie material which forms the lining of the tie, or, in the case of unlined ties, the tie material folded upon itself, and sewn together, which forms the reverse side of the tie. After the form is thus placed in the proper position, the tieis tied in the customary manner, and the form will insure that a neat-appearing knot will ensue.

The proper positioning of the form is, however, in most cases a time-consuming, trial by error operation. It is therefore, an essential feature of my invention to provide means for semi-permanently fixing the form in the tie, once the proper position in the necktie has been determined, depending on the neck size of the wearer. Such means are provided, in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. l, by the choice of the material from which the form is made. When a nOn-staining'thermoplastic material is used, the form may be fixed in place by passing a hot iron over the rear portion of the necktie to soften the form and to cause the fibers of the necktie material to mesh with the formmaterial, whereby to fix the form in place. If it is desired to remove the form from the necktie, it may be easily pulled away from the material, with insubstantial damage. It is contemplated that the tie itself will be provided with markings indicating the position in which the form is to be fixed for various neck sizes, in order to facilitate the positioning of the form.

An alternative method for fixing the form in the proper place is incorporated in the embodiment of the form illustrated in Fig. 4. In this embodiment as further illustrated in Fig. 6, the stud 14 cooperates with buttonholes 20 cut in the reverse side of the necktie whereby to hold the form in its proper position. These buttonholes may, of course, be placed in the necktie in the course of manufacture, at points suitable for the positioning of the form in the proper position for wearers of different necktie sizes, or may be cut in the tie by the wearer.

Another alternative means for fixing the form in proper position is provided by the embodiment of the form illustrated in Fig. 5. In this embodiment the form is worked into position, the pin 17 is forced through the material of the reverse side of the tie, and is covered by a spring clip 21, such as the clips described in U. S. Patents 2,308,412 and 2,308,424, in order not only to hold the form in place, but to prevent damage to the underlying tie material, and to the collar, by the end of the pin 17. It will be understood, of course, that the aforementioned means for positioning the form semi-permanently in the necktie should not limit the scope of my invention, which is limited only by the claims appended hereto, and equiva- Z1 lent methods, which should be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this disclosure, may be substituted therefor.

Having now described my invention, what is claimed is:

1. A new article of manufacture including in combination a four-in-hand necktie, a plurality of button-holes formed in the reverse material of the necktie, the said button holes being located at selected points in. the larger end of the said necktie, a knot forming member located within the material of the said necktie in juxtaposition with one of said button holes, said knot forming member being provided with a stud operative to pass through said button holes whereby to semi-permanently fix the said knotforming member within the body of the necktie.

2. A knot-forming and'supporting device including in combination a triangular body section of limited deformability and wing portions extending from two sides of said body section, the said wing portions being of progressively lesser thickness from the point of their juncture with the body section to their edges, said wing portions being adapted to resiliently yield to deforming stresses. 7

3. A knot-forming and supporting device includingin combination a triangular body section formed "of a resilient, thermoplastic material, and having a thickness sufficient to render it of limited deformability, and wing portions extending from two sides of said body section, the said wing portions being formed integrally with the body section, and tapering in thickness from their 'point' of junction with the body section to their edges, said wing portions being adapted to resiliently yield to deforming stresses. V

4. A knot-forming and supporting device including in combination a generally triangular body section formed of a resilient, thermoplastic material, of a thickness suf ficient to render it of limited deform-ability, and having a front face and a rear face, and wing portions extending from two sides of said body section and flaring back in generally curvilinear form from the body section, the

said wing portions making an even joint with the said body section at the front face thereof, but being of lesser thickness than the body section, whereby to. make a stepped joint with the rear face of the said body section, the said wing sections being of progressively lesser thickness from the point of their junction with the face section to their edge.

5. A knot-forming device'for a necktie-comprising a; generally triangular body section of a thickness sufiicient to render it of limited deformability, wing'portions extending from two sides of the body section, the said wing portions being of progressively lesser thickness from their point of juncture with the body section to their edges, whereby to impart a greater degree of deformability than the body section to the wing portions, a pin having a pointed free end afiixed at the other end to the body section, and a spring clip engageable with said pin, said clip being adapted to cover the free end of the pin when engaged therewith. i 7

References Cited in the file of this patent 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS Thorpe Dec. 22, 1 953 

